A Crisis Almost Without Equal

[Jon8503]

By Greg Mitchell -- Greg Mitchell ([e-mail]) is editor of E&P and author of seven books on politics, media and history.


Republicans and Democrats alike are starting to face the prospect of what it means to have George W. Bush as their commander in chief for another 33 months -- in a time of war, terrorism, and nuclear intrigue. How can the press contribute to confronting the crisis? First: recognize it exists.

(April 19, 2006) -- No matter which party they generally favor or political stripes they wear, newspapers and other media outlets need to confront the fact that America faces a crisis almost without equal in recent decades.

Our president, in a time of war, terrorism and nuclear intrigue, will likely remain in office for another 33 months, with crushingly low approval ratings that are still inching lower. Facing a similar problem, voters had a chance to quickly toss Jimmy Carter out of office, and did so. With a similar lengthy period left on his White House lease, Richard Nixon quit, facing impeachment. Neither outcome is at hand this time.

Rest of Article @ Link: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002383107

[pat_k]

1. Bush-Cheney pose a clear and present danger & Congress is sworn to act

By his own admission, George W. Bush ordered the illegal surveillance of Americans without a warrant (violation of 50 USC Sec. 1809--Unauthorized Surveillance).

George W. Bush is continuing the illegal program, claiming that, unitary authoritarian power puts him above the law.

Bush's claim to unrestrained power subverts the principles and institutions we established under the Constitution for the United States. While the violation of rights of the Americans that are secretly being spied upon without a warrant is intolerable, it is the claim to unitary power that is truly devastating to our system of government.

Given the gravity and urgency of the threat to our constitutional democracy, members of Congress have a sworn duty to take immediate action to defend the nation.

Those who claim unrestrained power use it. Bush's claim to unitary authoritarian power currently subsumes all else (and in fact, the torture, secret programs and lies, and who knows what other activities that have yet to be revealed, all follow directly from his belief in his right to exercise unrestrained power).

Members of Congress are in denial. The facts are simple. We can get through. We just need to keep chipping away at whatever rationalizations they are hiding behind.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. What many of us felt in November of 2000 is becoming apparent ot the rest

of America.

[pat_k]

6. After we Impeach Bush and Cheney, the next task is to Impeach the . . .

. . . felonious five on the court who handed down Bush v. Gore. (Yes, Rehnquist included, posthumously).

The nation must come to terms with the truth about the stolen elections and the many failures of our leaders that enabled the fascists. Impeaching the five who handed down the Bush v. Gore edict is perhaps the most effective way to start the process.

We must seek to reverse everything done by the Bush-Cheney occupation. We cannot bring back the dead or fully restore the wounded, but we can Impeach Alito for advocating the Un-Constitutional "theory" of unitary authoritarian executive power. We can impeach Roberts for his involvement in the theft of the Florida election in 2000. We can reverse the massive tax kick-backs and negotiate repayment from those who got the kickbacks.

[BrklynLiberal]

11. I would support that 100% if it were only possible!!!

Nothing would make me happier than to see an Inaugural Parade that would finally put President Gore into the White House where he should have been in January of 2001!!
If only we could undo all that has been done by those bastards since then.:cry: All the lives that could have been saved!

[pat_k]

12. The only thing that is impossible is knowing the future with certainty

We do create our own reality. Not through propaganda like the Rove's of the world, but by recognizing that we are NOT omniscient.

Outcomes are never assured until events are behind us. There are many stages, composed of innumerable actions. The possibilities are infinite.

To see the real possibilities before us, we must resist predictions of futility, declare the BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), and then focus on achieving the step on the road that is immediately before us.

Conventional wisdom assured us (even mockingly) that we would never get a Senator to stand up and object to the Ohio electors on January 6th. No mainstream good government entity even considered fighting to make it happen. They were too busy whipping themselves for losing, when Kerry had in fact won. Citizen lobbyists took up the fight. Mainstream folks didn't jump on board until it was clear that the effort itself was energizing people in a way they might well capitalize on.

Had those mainstream groups allowed themselves to be open to the possibility and acted sooner, who knows? We might have inaugurated President Kerry on January 20th, 2005. And acting "sooner" could have been as early as December 12, 2000. Who knows? We might have inaugurated President Gore on January 20th, 2001.

There are so many other examples.

It is time to stand up and fight the good fights on principle. Even when we don't think anything will work, we must figure out some way to get one step closer and do what we can to get there. (There are always benefits on the road, no matter what the outcome.)

The step before us now is to fight for the principle of consent by impeaching Bush-Cheney and demanding believable elections. As we do that, we can publicly declare our more distant goals (like turning them over to The Hague; like impeaching the members of the court who abused the power entrusted to them; like seeking to undo their illegitimate actions).

Whether it takes years or decades, we can impeach Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas, Rehnquist, and O'Conner (posthumously if need be). We can pass a resolution that declares the Bush-Cheney occupation to have been in violation of the Consent of the Governed, and commit to undoing the changes made under their illegitimate authority (e.g, estimate the value of the tax kickbacks to their cronies and negotiate repayment the fraction of those kickbacks earned them; invest the money in the people and the public resources depleted by their actions.

Whether those more distant goals take years or decades, we cannot allow ourselves to paper over what the new American fascists have done to this country.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Wow. Well said.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[justice1]

3. Democratic politicians need to do a better job of courting.

The best part of most relationships is in the beginning, and it's all downhill from there. Dems campaign repeatedly in swing states, and ignore the rest. What is the incentive for someone to vote for a person, that shows no interest in their issues, right from the beginning?

The odds of a Democrat winning in a state like Wyoming in 2008 is somewhere between slim and none, but it doesn't mean it's a waste of time. They need to try to retain their small base, as well as draw new people in, for the next campaign.

I would suggest ad campaigns that spoke directly to registered Republicans that feel their party was hijacked.

[pat_k]

9. Every state, every district, is competitive

The following post doesn't just apply to districts -- the same goes for states:

EVERY district is competitive. . .

[niallmac]

4. With the ship of state floundering

Citizens seem more concerned with their individual pursuit of life jackets than
removing the captain from the bridge. Not saying it's the best course of action only
that I think this may explain in part the lack of impeachment furor at present.
Or maybe we as a nation are in collective denial, convincing ourselves there was
always this twenty degree list to starboard.

[AndyTiedye]

5. There Is, Actually One Other Concern, "PRESIDENT CHENEY"

[pat_k]

7. Nip that rationalization for inaction in the bud.

The very notion that "Cheney would be worse than Bush" demands his impeachment too. (If Bush is a clear and present danger to our constitutional democracy, and if Cheney is worse, members of Congress are sworn to force them both from power.)

As long as members of Congress fail to demand censure/impeachment, they are accessories after the fact.

Each day that members of Congress fail to carry out their sworn duty and demand Congressional action, the occupants of the WH can point to their failure to act as justification for their Un-American and Un-Constitutional claims to power (If our actions subverted the Constitution, wouldn't more members of Congress, who are sworn to act, be demanding Congressional action?)

The Congressional oath is an INDIVIDUAL oath that demands each member to make a personal decision. The decision that faces each member (and those who seek to be members) right now is this: duty or complicity?

When duty demands action, you must act, come what may.


"Fiat justitia, ruat coelum"

"Let justice be done, though the heavens fall"

[pat_k]

8. Actually, the drum beat for Impeachment is getting louder and louder . . .

. . .And it is not just coming from "out here."

DC Insider tells Dems to Campaign on Impeachment

[Justice Is Comin]

10. We haven't had that

open and shut gem yet that will be disclosed that will make him such a leper the Republicans wouldn't dare not go to him and tell him to resign.

And I'm telling you, I feel it will happen. I just know that undiscovered as yet mind blowing criminal exposure is not far off. The tsunami is coming.

[pat_k]

13. The clear and present danger posed by their claims of unrestrained . . .

. . .authority is undeniable even to Repubs. The "gem" is in our pocket.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/06/AR2006020601463_pf.html

When Gonzales argues that the Constitution gives the president undisputable powers to conduct warrantless surveillance despite a statute aimed at requiring him to seek court approval, such an interpretation "is not sound," Specter said in the interview. ". . . He's smoking Dutch Cleanser."

The Constitution is a contract among ourselves. No party to that contract has the right to give away our collective sovereignty.

By his own admission, George W. Bush ordered the illegal surveillance of Americans without a warrant (violation of 50 USC Sec. 1809--Unauthorized Surveillance).

George W. Bush is continuing the illegal program, claiming that, unitary authoritarian power puts him above the law.

Bush's claim to unrestrained power subverts the principles and institutions we established under the Constitution for the United States. While the violation of rights of the Americans that are secretly being spied upon without a warrant is intolerable, it is the claim to unitary power that is truly devastating to our system of government.

Given the gravity and urgency of the threat to our constitutional democracy, members of Congress have a sworn duty to take immediate action to defend the nation.

Those who claim unrestrained power use it. Bush's claim to unitary authoritarian power currently subsumes all else (and in fact, the torture, secret programs and lies, and who knows what other activities that have yet to be revealed, all follow directly from his belief in his right to exercise unrestrained power).

The grave danger and the necessity for action is easily conveyed to the American people (as Feingold, Harkin, Boxer, and Kerry have demonstrated in interviews). When confronted with the truth, Americans understand that such absolute power is NEVER freely given to a leader; it is only taken by deception or force.

The Constitution is a contract among ourselves. No party to that contract has the right to give away our collective sovereignty.

Members of Congress -- and much of the public -- are in denial. The facts are simple. We can get through. We just need to keep chipping away at whatever rationalizations those who are in denial are hiding behind.